COMMERCE

Spinning into town

By Sam Pfeifle

It was only a matter of time. The interest in turntablism sparked by the recent rise in the hip-hop scene — with the Hip-Hop Nation television program on channel 2, and the Four Elements show at the State Theatre — has created an undeniable demand. Nathan Lammi has the supply.

For turntablists, records are the strings that make their instruments sing, and new ones can be hard to come by if you’re looking for rare album like the latest DJ Superstar Keoki release. But as of May 1, with the opening of Velvet Records at 642 Congress Street in the old West End Deli space, that will all change.

“No one offers anything that we’ll be doing,” says Lammi, who performs as DJ Roq Nasty. “There’s a small store in Manchester, New Hampshire, but the closest store that would be our size is in Boston.”

Lammi says he’ll have roughly 2000 records for opening day, specializing in techno, house, and drum ’n’ bass recordings by artists like DJ Dan and Bad Boy Bill. He’ll also be selling “DJ in a box” kits that will allow kids looking to get into turntablism an affordable starter set. “We’ll sell them cheap,” says Lammi, “and not make much money, but we’ll get the kids started.”

Saturday, May 5, Velvet will hold a grand-opening with WRED, and will host what Lammi calls a “small, friendly DJ competition.